Shadows Always in the Dark
by Squabble
Summary: Slightly AU. His wife was kidnapped and she was all that mattered to him. Running from the dark and towards the meeting with her kidnapper, Alan Wake bumps into a strangely cheerful man. The Doctor.
1. The Doctor

Night had fallen quickly. That wasn't good. The Taken would be lurking, especially in the dark forestry. On a brighter note, it would be harder for the police to find him.

He had to meet the kidnapper tomorrow at noon, he couldn't afford to be arrested no matter how dangerous it was to travel in the shadows.

Alan Wake trudged through the bushes, his grip on his handgun tightening with each step. Using his other hand, he shone his flashlight into the trees ahead of him, every now and then doing a 360 check. He couldn't be too careful.

Suddenly another flashlight beam cut through the night. Wake quickly turned his off and crouched behind a boulder. A officer walked by, oblivious to Wake's presence. Slowly and carefully, Wake edged his way around the giant rock until he was facing the opposite direction of the officer.

Wake jogged a good distance away from him before slowing into a walk. He had to conserve his energy if he wanted to make it out of the woods alive.

A scream stopped him in his tracks. Wake spun around to the direction he came from and saw a beam of light erratically swaying between the trees. The screaming stopped and the woods were once again silent and _dark_. Wake hoped the officer had just stepped into a unattended bear trap, but he knew better. The Taken were awake.

He began walking faster, his gun and flashlight raised and ready. There was a ranger tower close by. He would go there. Wake began heading to higher ground towards the ranger tower. Looking below he saw several flashlight beams from officers searching for him. In the distance he noticed the red and blue lights of police car sirens.

The Dark Presence ripped through the forest, sending trees and boulders flying. There were a series of gunshots and swaying lights before all was quiet.

Wake ran. Bad idea.

Four Taken stalked out of the shadows of the trees, each equipped with some sort of tool in their dark hands. Wake swore under his breath before shining his flashlight at the one closest to him. It's face was covered by the black mist, but Wake could tell he was once a logger. It slithered back as if in pain before advancing again. Wake dodged the ax it used to attack him with and shot the dark man three times before it returned to the shadows, dead. He reloaded and spun around, just nearly receiving a full blow to the face from a sledgehammer. At the last second someone yanked him back by the hood of his black sweatshirt.

At that moment Wake thought he had been caught. The deputies had found him. They were all going to die.

Instead, when he whirled around he saw another man. He looked ordinary enough. Tall, short brown hair that stuck up in several directions, run down white converse, and wearing a brown pinstriped suit and trench coat. Well ordinary as in he wasn't surrounded by a dark shadow.

"Hm. An evolved species of the _Vashta Nerada, _maybe?" The man said to himself. Another Taken limped towards them, holding a sickle above it's head. The man's eyes widened, not in fear, but in a mix of curiosity and excitement.

"Run!" The man grabbed Wake's wrist and dragged him away from the overwhelming amount of Taken that had spawned from behind the trees. Without question, Wake let him.

They ran, the mysterious man being quite a good runner, until they made it to the base of the ranger station. The sun had started to rise as they reached the wooden steps.

Panting, Wake turned to the man who looked as if he could run another mile. The man just smiled.

"What- Who are you?" Wake asked, gasping for breath.

"I'm the Doctor."

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><p><strong>I got bored and decided to write a cross over. Depending on the reviews (whether I get any) I may or may not continue. Thanks for reading anyway!<strong>


	2. Vashta Nerada

**This is Alternate Universe so it has the main points of the game set differently.**

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><p>Wake jogged with the man to keep up with his long legs as he climbed the steps to the ranger station. He was confused by the strangers sudden appearance. "The Doctor? Is that it?"<p>

The Doctor glanced around, looking at the trees and lumber equipment. He wrinkled his nose. "Yup, that's me. The Doctor. Say, what year is this? I've sort of been out of the loop." The Doctor gestured to himself. "A hermit really." He opened the door to the ranger station and poked his head in before waving Wake inside.

"A hermit." Wake said with disbelief. "A _British_ hermit wearing a two piece suit and Converse. Living out there?" He pointed out the window, referring to the Taken infested woods.

"_Weeeell_," The Doctor stretched out the word and sat himself in a chair, propping his feet up on a table casually. "I also had a trench coat but that's not the point. The alternative to hermit is _Time Lord._"

"Sorry, what?" Wake narrowed his eyes and walked towards him. The Doctor just grinned. "Time- what?"

"Time Lord. I could spell it out if you want." The Doctor picked at a sandwich that had been left on the table, nibbling only on the crust. "Never liked bologna." He mumbled to himself and dropped the meat in a waste basket.

"What's a Time Lord?" Wake found himself asking, hoping this man wasn't a funny farm escapee.

"Time Lord's," The Doctor said pausing to drop another slice of bologna into the trash. " are an ancient extraterrestrial race and civilization of humanoids; the last time I checked Google. Which was about 2032. Time traveler, that just sums it up." He popped a piece of bread in his mouth and chewed slowly, watching Wake's reaction.

"So you're an alien. You're messing with me." Wake shook his head.

"Oi! Haven't you heard of the Battle of Canary Wharf? No? The great big space ship hovering over London?" The Doctor stared at him in disbelief and raised an eyebrow. "Blimey, you Americans."

"Okay, let's say I believe you. Stranger things have happened. Where's your space ship?" Wake headed to a few storage cupboards and began rooting through them, looking for any thing useful and pocket sized.

The Doctor leaned back in his chair. "Somewhere in there." He gestured to the patch of forestry they had came out of. "My TARDIS was acting up, poor girl, and sent me here. I stepped out just for a look but then this black goo, nasty stuff, covered my TARDIS. Of course I examined it, didn't know what to make of the readings. Seeing as I couldn't go back in I decided to go for stroll."

"You keep mentioning 'TARDIS'. Who- What is it?" Wake held up a shot gun and decided it would come in handy.

"**T**ime **a**nd **R**elative **D**imension **i**n **S**pace." The Doctor recited. "TARDIS. It's my 'spaceship' as you humans always call it. I like to think of her as a _time machine_."

It was farfetched, time travel, aliens, this man. But if his story could write itself and come to life, Wake was willing to believe the Doctor.

"Then tell me, what's it like in the future? Does this end?" Wake cast a glance across the room.

The Doctor tilted his head back to look at Wake. "I don't know. Haven't been in America since..." He furrowed his brow as he pondered. "Not for a while actually. And if I did know, I couldn't have told you. Interfering with someone's time stream is a big no no. Especially if I'm involved."

Wake just nodded, he had seen movies of time travel and what could go wrong. He had located several boxes of ammunition for his hand gun and had made his way to the chair set opposed to the Doctor. He listened to the man speak, trying to make sense of it all.

"No gun?" Wake asked, interrupting him from his speech on temporal paradoxes and the Blinovitch Limitation Effect.

The Doctor's cheery face fell and he stared at Wake in all seriousness. "No gun." He said. "I tend to go by warnings and verbal solutions."

"Those things are already dead and they won't listen to you." Wake retorted. "The only thing we can do is to kill them."

"Enough about me." The Doctor said changing the subject. He removed his feet from the table and folded his hands over his lap. "Who exactly are you?"

Wake sighed knowing what was going to happen next. "My name is Alan Wake." He waited for the look of recognition in the other mans eyes but to his surprise couldn't find it. "The best selling author? _The Sudden Stop_?"

The Doctor rubbed his mouth in thought. "Sorry, no. I don't usually have time for books. But I may have a copy, I'm a horder, really. What year is it again? You didn't answer me before." He looked at Wake.

"2010."

The man in the suit clapped his hands and grinned. "A time I'm quite familiar with, very good. Saves the trouble of figuring out new knick knacks. Anyway, what are those things? Wait, let me rephrase that. What do _you_ think they are?"

The Doctor said it as if he knew what the Taken were already.

"The Taken. They are-were ordinary humans before the Dark Presence killed them and possessed their bodies. So now they're just puppets set to kill me. And they'll take down anything in their way." Wake trailed off as he thought of Rusty and Stucky.

"Mmhm." The Doctor was deep in thought, rubbing his neck. He glanced at Wake. "Sorry, go on."

"And this is all my fault. Technically. It's complicated." Wake rubbed his forehead and set down his hand gun.

"I've heard worse." The Doctor said. "Continue."

"This is my book coming to life. Well, the book I haven't written yet is writing itself, or someone else is writing it. I'm not sure yet but I keep finding this manuscript pages of a book titled '_Departured_' supposedly written by me. I try not to think of the logic because none of it makes sense. It's not practical. All I want is my wife back. Nothing else."

"Oh?" The Doctor seemed much more interested now. He leaned forwards. "What does your wife have to do with this?"

So Wake told him. From the moment he and Alice stepped into the town to the moment he exited Rose's trailer with an unconscious Barry.

"Interesting." Was all the strange man said.

"Which is how I met you last night. I was running from the cops, something I wouldn't usually do but this was way out of their depth."

"And it's not out of yours?"

Wake's expression hardened. "I'm the one that wrote the story, I can write myself out of it. And this is _my_ wife. I'm supposed to meet the kidnapper tonight at Mirror's Peak and I know for a fact the deputies wouldn't have let me out with just a warning."

He sighed as he thought of the situation he was in. He hadn't written the manuscript for the kidnapper so he would have to wing it tonight.

"I've told you everything I know, now it's your turn. I have a feeling you know what's going on around here, Doctor." Wake said.

"My theory is, is that these things, this Dark Presence of yours, is a evolved form of the Vashta Nerada." The Doctor said after a few moments of thinking.

"What's the 'Vashta Nerada'?"

"Shadows really. They're microscopic spores that once lived in trees. Now they reside in shadows. Well, 'now' as being 'then' which was in the future... Never mind that." The Doctor waved it off with his hand. "In small bunches they aren't actually harmful, but in large groups they are deadly. If you step in their shadow they can melt skin to the bone."

"Back to my theory; evolution. Let's start with trees. Glorious things they are. They provide oxygen, shelter, and very large shadows. The Vashta Nerada used to live in them. Which is why these Taken are forced to hang around them. Next; The Vashta Nerada possess bodies, not before killing the host of course. Just like the Taken. Literally. Vocabulary has increased from last words to memories. Movement has also improved. Maybe that's because they've controlled their hunger for the flesh and haven't left the body as a skeleton."

The Doctor looked directly into Wakes eyes.

"Now the kicker. They only live in the darkness. When day comes along, they compress into shadows. Now this evolved form is forced to stay in the darkness, just a toll evolution took. Nothing can be perfect. Just a minor set back. Back in their day, light was the only way to stay safe. You said that the Taken dislike light of any source? Obvious signs of the Vashta Nerada right there!" He slammed his fist against the table as if to prove a point.

The room was silent for a moment before Wake spoke. "So this a _theory_?_"_

"Yes. The Vashta Nerada had time to develop while it was locked up under Kettle La-"

"Cauldron."

"Cauldron Lake."

"But how can something from the future have been locked away in the past? And why would anyone put it on Earth?" Wake asked, two questions that were bothering him.

The Doctor leaned back again. "The procedure itself was very complicated. Time wimey stuff." He fell silent for a moment and sighed. "And I kinda put them there."

Wake slammed his palms on the table and stood up angrily. The Doctor didn't even flinch. He just looked up and listened. "So if you haven't buried the Vashta Nerada underground on _Earth_ for how many years they wouldn't have evolved and this wouldn't have happened? Who are you? Who are you really, Doctor? For all I know you could be leading me into a trap like everyone else!"

The Doctor stood up as well, not quite shouting, but speaking in a calm yet rushed voice. "I'm just the Doctor. I travel through time and space, exploring and saving the universe many times and _in_ many times from everything you could possibly imagine. Every nightmare you can imagine. This is just one of them. I could have lied to you. Shown you fake credentials. Said my name was John Smith." He whipped out a wallet bearing a drivers license with the name John Smith imprinted on it. "Or say I was from England to investigate strange happenings." He whipped out another wallet. "Or even say I was from Torchwood!" The Doctor paused and frowned. "No, wait, that's rubbish. They hate me. No one would believe that."

Wake could only stare.

"Now do you want my help or not?" The Doctor asked simply.

"Yes, I do." Wake replied.

The Doctor grinned cheekily at him. "Good, because I would've helped you anyway. That's who I am. The Doctor. I mend things that have gone wrong. And seeing how this may have been my fault originally." He winked. "But you lot. You lot are the ones that let it loose."

Wake couldn't help but laugh. "The Vashta Nerada evolved under the earth into the Dark Presence."

"In a nut shell, yeah. You can still call it the Dark Presence. New species need a new name." The Doctor shrugged and smiled. "Alan Wake, best selling author and alien namer. Catchy."

"You sound like Barry. So what does it want with Alice? Or me?"

The Doctor shrugged. "Another guess of mine, just a hunch; is that over time it developed a mind of it's own. No longer is it a tiny speck, it managed to group up into one large, manipulative _thing_!" He sat in thought, rubbing his non existent stubble. "Sounds like an horror story, doesn't it."

"Something I would write." Wake agreed.

"Another clue to the mystery. Creativity." The Doctor said and stood up, stretching.

"Another question." Wake announced. "Why did you have to imprison it? And why on Earth?"

"Ah," The Doctor pointed at Wake. "It's a long story, and when I say long story it could be turned into a novel. So to sum it up, the Vashta Nerada were giving me some trouble on the Lost Moon of Poosh. Well now it's the Found Moon of Poosh. I happen to like Poosh. Fabulous swimming pools. So after that complicated procedure I told you about I managed to get all of the Vashta Nervadians, If that's what they're called, contained. Although Earth is the perfect place for the Vastha Nervada to grow in, it also contains some uninhabitable areas like underground where there is nothing for them to feed on. So my brilliant plan at the time was to bury them deep in the ground where they would wither away. Something must have happened. What? I wouldn't know."

"Some of the things you say hardly make any sense." Wake finally said after trying to comprehend everything from the word Poosh to Nervadians. "But I think I understand where you're going with this."

"Fantastic! First things first before we go save the world. Your wife. Good ol' wifey."

Wake looked out the window. "We have a whole day to kill."

"Yup." The Doctor said, his feet back on the table.

Wake turned to the door. "I'm going to find us a car so we can get to Mirror's Peak without too many Taken on our tail. There should be some abandon in the forest. Their owners won't be needing them any more." He opened the door to the ranger station. "Stay here, Doctor. I don't think the rangers will be back."

"Hold on, Alan." The Doctor got up and waltzed over to the older man. He reached into his brown pinstriped suit and pulled out a wrinkled paper and Wake's heart stopped for a second. "I think this belongs to you."

He had found moments after the TARDIS landed, lying there on a rock perfectly balanced. He had found it odd, a piece of paper in the middle of a dark forest, so he picked it up to find a sentence of what seemed like the end of a chapter in a fictional novel. Finding that even more odder he decided to keep it.

The Doctor nodded to him curtly and headed back to his spot at the table, rotating something he had pulled out of his pocket in his hands. Wake just stared at the manuscript page before shoving it into his pocket and shutting the door.

_The explosion was close, too close for their comfort. The two glanced at each other, both thinking the same thoughts as they continued on their dark journey._

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><p><strong>Yes, I know. Confusing. It confused me too. I ended up with a head ache after this. If you have any questions just ask. <strong>

**And I'm sorry for all the OOCness!**


	3. The Bright Orange PickUp Truck

_Nightingale's face twisted in fury as he paced while waiting for Sheriff Breaker. How hard was it to find a man, no, an author that was smack-dab in the center of a bunch of trees? He had sent 15 deputies out to look for Wake and all Nightingale got in return was 15 crackling radios. Wake surely couldn't have killed them all. Nightingale smirked. Well, if he did Wake would have his one way ticket to prison. If they catch him. For god's sake! Nightingale was a FBI agent and Wake was a loony writer. He shouldn't be doubting himself. He would find Wake. _

_The door opened and Sheriff Breaker walked in. _

_"About time!" Nightingale exclaimed and pointed a finger at her accusingly. "He's been out there for four hours now and we still haven't found him!" _

_Breaker shook her head. "Relax, Agent Nightingale. We're going to find Wake in due time." _

_Nightingale advanced towards her. "No. 'In due time' isn't good enough. I want every cop in this little bumpkin town out there looking for this guy. You got it?" He growled. _

_Breaker's expression didn't change but he noticed the corner of her mouth twitch. "I'll see what I can do." She said calmly and exited the room. _

_Nightingale rubbed his neck and sighed. He needed a drink._

They had spent the day talking, most about The Doctor's adventures. They were barely believable. Aliens, Planets, Time and Space. Sometimes topics would change and they would end up talking about Wake's life. The Doctor listened carefully while he had talked, nodding every now and then, asking questions here and there. He was good company.

Now it was time. The sun was setting and the kidnapper would be waiting for Wake in a few hours. Wake pulled back from the window and he glanced around the rangers station one last time before crossing across the room. He snatched up a rifle hanging on a hook by the door and emptied a box of ammunition in one of his pockets before heading outside. He closed his eyes and took a breath of the cool air, feeling momentarily at peace. Then thoughts of Alice, the Taken, and the kidnapper crossed his mind. Wake opened his eyes and sighed before striding towards the only vehicle he found with the keys still in the ignition.

The Doctor was already inside, absent-mindedly tapping a beat on the window of the bright orange pick-up with his feet propped up on the dashboard. _1,2,3,4...1,2,3,4..._

Wake knocked on the window and the Doctor flashed him a toothy grin. "About time!" He chirped and lowered his feet. Wake opened the door and got into the drivers seat, tossing the rifle to the Doctor who caught it with distaste. "Oh, no. I don't use guns."

"The Taken are already dead and I don't think you can negotiate with the dead." Wake replied and started up the engine.

"Oh you'd be surprised what you can do." Wake gave the other man a look. The Doctor shrugged. "On completely different terms of course." He propped up the weapon against the door.

Wake glanced at the orange horizon and acknowledged how little time they had before it set completely. He stepped on the accelerator. It would be dark soon. "Suit yourself, Doctor. At least help me hold the flashlight while _I_ shoot them."

"Yes, sir!" The Doctor mock saluted Wake and took hold of the flashlight that was being offered to him, looking at it carefully. He flicked the switch and a ray of light appeared. Wake heard a high pitched wailing but it stopped when he looked at the Doctor. He regarded it as nothing and continued driving but when The Doctor flicked the switch again the flashlight's beam was ten times brighter.

"Batteries." The Doctor said when he caught Wake staring. "You just gotta give it a good shake." He shook the flashlight.

Soon the sun had set and the darkness of the night had replaced it. Wake started to worry. It was only at night when..._things start to happen_. Right on cue the car began sputtering, making sounds that would give an engineer a heart-attack.

"Not good." Wake muttered as the car came to a complete stop. He slammed his palm against the wheel which didn't do much but make his hand throb. He turned his head towards his companion. "We'll have to walk." He announced grimly.

The Doctor opened the door and hopped out. "Walking is fine. I like walking. Though I'm more used to _running_..." The Doctor rambled as he stretched out his long legs. "But that's a different story. Another time perhaps." He sniffed and walked over to the front of the car.

Wake met up with him from his side and they both stared down at the smoking hood.

"Ooooh. What is this?" The Doctor crouched down and whipped out a pair of glasses. He tilted his head and said, "This is the stuff covering my TARDIS."

"I wouldn't touch that if I were you." Wake said and he took a step back. The black sludge bubbled as it oozed out of the hood. The Doctor stood up and followed Wake towards a lamp post.

"Where are these Taken? It's night isn't it? I would love to take a reading off one of 'em." The Doctor enthused as Wake sorted out his weapons. He settled for a handgun and slung the rifle over his shoulder.

"They're usually in the forest." He said with a nod towards the canopy of trees. "Where there is less light. Makes me feel bad for the folks living in cabins." Wake grimaced at the thought of the Dark Presence's victims. "Alright, follow me. Are you ready?"

The Doctor slipped his glasses into the inside pocket of his jacket and nodded. "Allons-y!"

Wake took one step out of the light, about to cross the road towards the dark forest, but was stopped by an explosion. The force sent him into the air for a split second before he hit the ground on his shoulder. Wake quickly rolled over to shield himself from the flying debris.

His ears were still ringing when he forced himself onto his feet. Not more than 15 feet away was what used to be a unattractive orange truck. Now, it was a flaming, still-orange, inferno. He staggered back into the safety of the light and stared at the fire, recalling the manuscript page that was in his pocket.

The Doctor jumped to his feet and dusted off his jacket. The two men looked at each other.

"Blimey, that Dark Presence knows how to make one hell of an entrance." He exclaimed and picked a rock out of his hair.

Wake looked up to see a white sheet of paper drifting towards him in the air. He reached up and grabbed it, grimacing as he read. The Doctor waltzed over and peered down at the newest manuscript page. "That's just the entrance." He stuffed the sheet into his pocket and started into the night.

_"No, please!" Douglas screamed as he frantically clawed at the door. He turned around and his heart lurched when the figure turned the corner. Douglas reached for the light switch and flicked it on and off, praying that it would turn on. It didn't. The figure advanced slowly, hatchet in hand. "Please! Why are you doing this? Dave? Dave!" Douglas pleaded to his older brother as he shouldered the door, his only mean of escape. If he could only get the door open, he might have a chance. The figure didn't say anything, it only laughed hideously. Douglas flattened himself against the wooden door to their cabin and searched for a weapon. Anything would do. He snatched an umbrella from the floor and brandished it with fear. The dark figure was close now and Douglas could tell this wasn't his brother anymore. He raised the umbrella higher and swung it down with as much force as he could muster... and missed._

_Wake snapped his head upright when he heard the scream. It was very faint but it was most definitely a scream. It was then followed by a low rattle that almost sounded like a dark laugh. He swallowed thickly and stood up from where he was positioned on a molding log. "Let's move." He said to his companion._


	4. Trudging

_I didn't know what to believe in anymore. I had thought the whole Dark Presence thing was crazy but now aliens might be involved. Aliens. It sounded like something out of a story or a sci-fi television show. But it was real. So very real._

Wake held back a long branch for The Doctor and glanced over his shoulder. Nothing so far. He released it and it snapped back into place. He gritted his teeth and tightened his grip on his hand gun anxiously. He hated the fact that the Taken could appear out of no where at any moment.

The Doctor didn't seem afraid at all even though Wake had explained every little detail about the Taken during their brief stay at the rangers station.

He just hummed softly as they trudged on the soggy leaves. Wake wondered why he bothered to stay. He had _wanted _to help; he volunteered to come along. Why? Now that Wake had told him the secret to destroying the darkness the Doctor could have just gone back to his spaceship with a flashlight, remove the goo, and be on his merry way. Either the Doctor truly wanted to help or that he was looking for something. Maybe both.

"Hey, Alan." The Doctor called out from the darkness suddenly. He pointed up ahead. "There's a cabin over there. Mind if we stop for a bit?"

Wake did mind. Usually cabins without their lights off meant trouble, but then again there was a chance there would be supplies laying about. "Five minutes."

The Doctor nodded with a grin and strayed off the path with Wake on his heels. They stopped at a small shed a short distance away from the log home. "There's a generator over there. I'll go see if I can start it up."

"Be careful, Doctor." Wake took a seat on a log and held up his pocket-able flashlight. "Do you have your flashlight... or torch...or whatever you call them in Britain?"

"Torch would be the accurate term." The Doctor held up his own flashlight and waved it about. Wake watched him approach the generator and rub his hands together before attempting at starting it up. The generator spluttered and sparked but other than that nothing happened.

"Need help?" Wake called out, glancing around self-consciously.

"No, no. It's perfectly alright." The Doctor replied with a slight wave of the hand. Wake nodded and turned around to keep an eye out for Taken. Then he heard the same strange sound from when they were in the car, coming from the direction of the Doctor. He turned his head around to see the man slip something into the inner pocket of his jacket and take hold of the generator's crank once again. The Doctor started cranking and suddenly the area was filled with light from the lamp posts situated around the perimeter cabin.

Grinning, the Doctor returned to Wake. "Nice and bright, huh Alan?"

"Yeah." Wake replied, deciding not to ask about the sound. "We're safe for now." He glanced over to his left and noticed a small radio wedged in between two coolers. He switched it on and listened.

_...This is Pa...Maine...disappearances in..._

The Doctor raised his eye brows but said nothing as they both tried to work out what was being said.

_...Bright Falls...blame the bears...in other news... FBI are looking for...missing auth...n Wake..._

Wake shut it off, he had heard enough. He took a look at his watch and noted that they only had less than two hours to meet up with the kidnapper. He was about to tell the Doctor when all of the lights suddenly turned off and the soft hum off the generator fell silent.

"Oh sh-" An awfully close scream pierced through the air, cutting off Wake's sentence. It was a man's yell, Wake observed. A cry of pain. A sound similar to a cackle followed but it was hard to tell since the wind picked up. The Doctor tensed slightly, not so much because of fear but sympathy.

Then did Wake realize that they were sitting ducks for the Taken. He stood up. "Let's go." He said and felt a strange sense of deja vu. _The Manuscript, _he thought with a grimace.

The Doctor made a sweeping gesture towards the dirt path. "After you." He said with a raised eyebrow.

"Thanks." Wake muttered sarcastically. "I appreciate it." He made his way through the long, unkempt grass and onto the pathway. Setting his foot onto the trail was like pulling a trigger. Two Taken emerged behind two thick trees, the shorter of the pair holding a small, bloodied hatchet and the other slightly taller one holding the handle of a tattered, steel umbrella.

The suddenness of their appearance caused Wake to loosen his grip on his flashlight and it fell with a clatter against the ground as the batteries tumbled out. Wake swore under his breath as he fired his hand gun in the general direction of the Taken. The Taken only flinched at the impact of the shots but they didn't stop walking. He knelt down and searched for the batteries, only locating one. The sounds of the Taken's distorted rambling were getting closer which wasn't reassuring.

A flashlight dropped in front of him unexpectedly. He recognized it as the one he gave to the Doctor.

Wake looked up just in time to see the Doctor take a step forwards with his arm extended, aiming a thin rod at the approaching Taken.

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><p><strong>AN: At some point should I bring in one of the Doctor's companions? I'm debating this with myself and I need a second (or third...or fourth...) opinion. Please review!**


	5. The Woman in Black

_**A/N: Yes, it's been a long time since I've updated. And I apologize for that. **  
><em>

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><p><em>He stood, towering over me with his hand wrapped around a thin rod with a blue tip. The top glowed bright and for a second I thought it was a flashlight but it wasn't emitting enough light to be a flashlight and it was too thick to be a pen.<em>

The sonic seemed to have an enormous effect on the Taken, similar to the effect of a heavy duty flashlight combined with a bullet from a shotgun. Wake was astounded by the small pocket sized device in The Doctor's hand. Whatever it was, it had just saved his life. He recognized the sound from the cabin and in the car when The Doctor was tinkering with his flashlight. It was like an amplifier of some sort. Wake spotted the second battery lying half buried in the dirt a few feet away. He reached over and snatched it up as he got to his feet. Inserting the batteries into his flashlight, he pointed it at the Taken and flicked the on switch. Now they were reeling backwards. The blue tip glowed bright as The Doctor pointed it at the retreating Taken, both cowering from the tiny bright light and the high pitched whirring. A few shots from Wake's hand gun and the Taken melted into the darkness, gone from existence.

He took a moment to catch his breath before asking, "What the hell is that?".

The Doctor looked down at the object in his hand and frowned before holding it up for Wake to see. "Oh, this? It's a sonic screwdriver. It's like a normal screwdriver, but it's not."

"What exactly does it do?"

"A lot of things. It opens doors, lets me scan extraterrestrial beings, etcetera etcetera. Only it doesn't work on wood. And before you ask, yes, I do realize we're in a forest." He gave Wake a cheeky grin before starting off once again as though nothing had happened. Wake ran a hand through his hair, the sweat matting it down to his skull. _Jesus Christ. _He glanced over his shoulder, a chill creeping up his spine, before jogging up to the Doctor.

He hadn't told the Doctor this, but when he went vehicle hunting earlier that day he had also went to check out the mine shaft. After a little encounter with Taken inside the mine, he had received a call from the kidnapper instructing him to meet him at Mirror Peak at midnight. It was implied that he was to come alone, but if they used the darkness to their advantage the Doctor could conceal himself and the kidnapper wouldn't be able to tell the difference. At least Wake hoped so. They started up a slope, Wake's blue eyes more alert than ever. They flickered back and forth from the path in front of him to his surroundings. The Doctor didn't seem to mind the darkness or the cold or the fact Taken could appear at any moment. In fact he had taken his first encounter with the Taken extremely well. No screaming, no running, no panicking. Maybe his stories about dealing with malicious aliens were true.

Wake slowed his pace as they approached a footbridge. It creaked upon his first step which worried him a bit. Nonetheless he continued on, beckoning The Doctor to come as well seeing as the skinny man wouldn't weigh them down too much. The bridge swayed ever so slightly as the walked, which didn't bother him as much as the trees that were exploding below. Wake flinched, but didn't slow down. Instead he moved faster. It didn't take long for them to reach the lookout. Both men stared over the edge, momentarily captivated by the beautiful landscape illuminated by the moonlight. The serenity was broken by the sound of shouting, the kidnappers voice. They exchanged puzzled looks before darting up the trail. Wake reached for his gun, the flashlight in one hand. The Doctor on the other hand had his sonic clutched tightly.

They were met by the kidnapper on his knees looking up at a woman in black, her face hidden by a veil. If either them acknowledged the two they didn't show it. The Doctor started towards them, but Wake held him back. Something was about to happen and it wasn't going to be good. The kidnappers pleas were drowned out as the woman in black summoned a dark whirlwind that picked up the kidnapper with ease and tossed him over the edge of the peak. Wake raised his arms in an attempt to shield himself from the wind and debris, but the wind was strong, strong enough to send the two men backing up to the railing. A sudden gust propelled him over the edge, but he reached out and grabbed onto the railing just in time. He clenched his teeth as he dangled there, his arm nearly being yanked out of it's socket. Then The Doctor appeared, leaning over the railing, his brown coat bellowing behind him in the wind. He had one hand similarly grasping onto the railing. The other was extended towards Wake.

"Take my hand!"

With the wind blowing hard enough to flip a truck, his body hanging over Cauldron Lake and one hand holding on for dear life, Wake wasn't in the best position to speak. But as Wake reached up to grasp the other man's hand, the part of the railing he was holding onto snapped off sending the author falling back into the deep, dark, abyss. As he fell he spotted something silver fall with him. Wake grabbed it in the air and quickly realized it was a key attached to a string. The Doctor was shouting something at him, something about the key but he couldn't hear him. He slipped it into his pocket for safe keeping before he felt the ice cold water swallow him whole. Wake closed his eyes as he felt himself sink deeper and deeper into Cauldron Lake.

_His eyes snapped open, his two hearts beating faster than normal. The Doctor squinted against the sunlight shining directly in his eyes and let out a soft groan and raised his arms to stretch. He rolled his shoulders and flung his long legs over the side of the bed, slipping his feet into the fuzzy, blue slippers on the ground. Rubbing the back of his neck, The Doctor shuffled over to an armchair and reached out for the customary patient bathrobe, paused, then grabbed his trench coat instead. Donning the beige coat, he stepped out of his room and into the hallway of the Cauldron Lake Lodge. _

_ It had been almost four days since the incident at Mirror Peak. Right after he watched Alan sink into Cauldron Lake, The Doctor made a decision. Instead of diving after Alan, he chose to hightail out of there. A quick scan with his sonic told him that there was something about the water that wasn't normal. He had a good feeling that if he dove into it, he wouldn't survive. Alan on the other hand would. They, whoever they were, wanted Alan alive. He on the other hand was just any other civilian caught in the middle of it all, at least that's what they would think. So he took off, running as fast as he could into the forest and back to civilization. The Taken seemed to ignore him for the most part, which was good because The Doctor was pre-occupied tinkering with his sonic. His plan was to track the modified TARDIS key to track Alan's whereabouts. It took the rest of the night, but after a bit of messing around he managed to pick up a signal coming from what he believed to be the Cauldron Lake Lodge._

_Which was why he proceeded to admit himself into the Lodge by stating that he was a deranged musician that had too many issues to count. To prove it, he claimed he sang folk songs from a planet called Gallifrey. He even performed a few of them on the spot with spoons. That and his natural eccentricity did the trick. He spent every spare minute searching for the missing author, but every time he was interrupted by one of the orderlies. _

_"Where are you, Alan?" he muttered under his breath as he was dragged back to his room by two of the walking refrigerators._


End file.
